James Fenton has written extensively on the subject of art and artists for The New York Review of Books. He also covers the topic on a regular basis for The Guardian under the series heading "Looking, Listening, Reading, Writing".

Leonardo's Nephew (1998) gathers many of Fenton's art essays from The New York Review of Books. Within its pages, Fenton explores topics such as statues, Seurat, Picasso, Degas, and Joseph Cornell.

Fenton is also the author of the soon to be published The Royal Academy of Arts: A History. This outstanding publication is a meticulously researched and highly illustrated portrait of the development of the Royal Academy of Arts from its foundation in 1768 to the present day. Through unlimited access to the secrets of the Academy’s library and archive, and interviews with senior Academicians, Fenton weaves an accessible and entertaining narrative as he tells the colourful and often turbulent story of this unique institution". (Publication date - October 2005)

Lecture: Bronzino: Painter, Poet, Man

Selected Articles & Essays

'Heritage for Sale.' The Independent (London) (11 December 2002): 4.

'Painters in the Round.' The Guardian (19 April 2003): 24 [On Sir Gerald Kelly, Degas, and Cezanne].

'Read the Small Print.' The Guardian (14 February 2004): 24.

'Pressing the Right Buttons.' The Guardian (21 February 2004): 24 [On The Madonna of the Pinks].

'Making an Exhibition of Themselves.' The Guardian (3 April 2004): 24.

'Illusions of Grandeur.' The Guardian (26 February 2005) [On German Romantic painting].

'Mixing With the Modern World.' The Guardian (26 March 2005) [On artistic exchanges between Europe and China].

'Exposed.' The Guardian (16 April 2005) [On an exhibition that reveals Strindberg's limitations].

'The Play's the Thing.' The Guardian (23 July 2005) [Revival of the opera The Mines of Sulphur, by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett].

'Sitting Pretty.' The Guardian (3 September 2005) [Intriguing portraits of writers and artists, some for sale in an upcoming auction].

'Picture Perfect', The Guardian, 23 June 2007 [Fenton stops by Christie's to view a Raphael portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici].

'Manors Maketh Man', The Guardian, 30 June 2007 [Fenton on a National Trust treasure -- Waddesdon Manor].

'The Perception of Doors', The Guardian, 7 July 2007 [Fenton on the Gates of Paradise].

'Hanging On', The Guardian, 29 September 2007 [Fenton on policies for museum sales].

'A Touch of Expertise', The Guardian, 6 October 2007 [Fenton on the V & A's The Making of Sculpture show].

'Life's Rich Tapestries', The Guardian, 27 October 2007 [Fenton gives old tapestries a new spin].

'Memories of Spain', The Guardian, 3 November 2007 [Fenton on a great little museum in Manhattan -- The Hispanic Society of America].

'Rembrandt Reaches the Web', The Guardian, 10 November 2007 [Fenton on the British Museum quietly launching its comprehensive website of what it calls flat art].

'Fakes and Counterfeits', The Guardian, 24 November 2007 [Fenton on the art of forgery -- and getting away with it].

'A Landscape All of Its Own', The Guardian, 1 December 2007 [Fenton on the roof of Gaudí's masterpiece, La Pedrera].

'Old Master Criminals', The Guardian, 8 December 2007 [Fenton on robber barons in the art market].

'Private View', The Guardian, 8 March 2008 [Fenton explores the origin of the world at the Met in New York].

'Restoration and Removal', The Guardian, 15 March 2008 [Fenton on moving rooms around the world].

'Purloined Pictures', The Guardian, 29 March 2008 [Fenton on the Nazi leaders' love of Cranach].

'Basement Treasures', The Guardian, 19 April 2008 [Fenton Basement treasures].

'Pure Palladio', Times Literary Supplement, 18 March 2009 [Fenton on Andrea Palladio].

'Recognizing Annie Leibovitz in All This Work', American Photo 20.2 (March/April 2009): 42-43.

'Desires of Michelangelo', Times Literary Supplement, 9 April 2010.